Gustavo from Peru - The United States is NOT America
Dear America,
Well, there is something that has always bothered me and a lot of my friends, and it has probably bothered a lot of Latin American people too...
Personally, I really hate it when the citizens of the United States of America call themselves "Americans" and that they live in "America". I am really sorry to enlighten you, but your country IS NOT called America, it is called the "United States of America".
America is a continent divided in THREE parts, that would be North America, Central America and South America. Being from Perú (for those who don't know, Perú is a country located in South America), I am also an American, as well as anybody from Chile, Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico or Canada, because all of this countries (and more of course) are located in the American continent.
Then, maybe you should call yourselves "North Americans"... Well, that wouldn't be completely right because citizens of Mexico and Canada are also North Americans. In fact, if you did call yourselves "Americans" it wouldn't be completely wrong because your country is located in America.
The problem happens when you use those words ("America" and "Americans") as if they were exclusively designed for you, and that is when people like me get really pissed off and write in pages like this. I don't know what is the problem with your culture, thinking too big of yourselves, as if the whole continent was just a part of your country.
So please, start educating yourselves and stop calling yourselves "America" and "Americans" when you try to refer to the "United States of America" as your country and to your "citizenship" as if you owned the continent because you don't (even if your government sometimes acts as if they owned the world... which isn't true).
About the Author:
Name: Gustavo de la Torre
Age: 23
Country: Perú
City: Lima
Gender: Male
Occupation: Director, Editor
Website: http://youtube.com/enteoria
9 Comments
Published on Monday, April 09, 2007 at 12:47 AM. Well, there is something that has always bothered me and a lot of my friends, and it has probably bothered a lot of Latin American people too...
Personally, I really hate it when the citizens of the United States of America call themselves "Americans" and that they live in "America". I am really sorry to enlighten you, but your country IS NOT called America, it is called the "United States of America".
America is a continent divided in THREE parts, that would be North America, Central America and South America. Being from Perú (for those who don't know, Perú is a country located in South America), I am also an American, as well as anybody from Chile, Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico or Canada, because all of this countries (and more of course) are located in the American continent.
Then, maybe you should call yourselves "North Americans"... Well, that wouldn't be completely right because citizens of Mexico and Canada are also North Americans. In fact, if you did call yourselves "Americans" it wouldn't be completely wrong because your country is located in America.
The problem happens when you use those words ("America" and "Americans") as if they were exclusively designed for you, and that is when people like me get really pissed off and write in pages like this. I don't know what is the problem with your culture, thinking too big of yourselves, as if the whole continent was just a part of your country.
So please, start educating yourselves and stop calling yourselves "America" and "Americans" when you try to refer to the "United States of America" as your country and to your "citizenship" as if you owned the continent because you don't (even if your government sometimes acts as if they owned the world... which isn't true).
About the Author:
Name: Gustavo de la Torre
Age: 23
Country: Perú
City: Lima
Gender: Male
Occupation: Director, Editor
Website: http://youtube.com/enteoria
Labels: 20's, americans, director, language, male, peru, south america
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Gustavo,
I believe you have a valid point. Everyone who lives on this continent is technically an American. We can then narrow it down to North American, Central American, and South American. After that, we have to get country specific - Canadian, Mexican, Peruvian, Brazilian, Panamanian........ However, it appears that "USAian" simply never caught on. The people living in the US now didn't initiate our nomenclature. We inherited it. We grew up with the whole world referring to us as simply Americans, when we could have been referred to as US citizens instead. I doubt it could be change at this point, regardless of how hard we tried.
I understand your point of view. But, I think you're reading something between the lines that isn't there. Assigning any negative intent to United States citizens, who refer to themselves as Americans, is an erroneous assumption. The things you mentioned ("thinking too big of yourselves, as if the whole continent was just a part of your country" and "stop calling yourselves "America" and "Americans" when you try to refer to the "United States of America" as your country and to your "citizenship" as if you owned the continent") have never crossed my mind. I don't think about things in the way you suggested, and I don't know anyone who does. We certainly don't want to "own" the continent. We have our hands full just trying to deal with what's going on here in the United States.
I don't know why US citizens are universally referred to as Americans, while you are referred to as Peruvian, instead of American. Maybe it's just because the US is the largest, and most populous country on the American continent.
Hmmm. I know this was posted a long time ago, but I would just like to shed a little light on the subject.
The official name of our country is "The United States of America". The name part of this is "America". "United States" refers to the organization of "America".
To help you see my point, Gustavo, take your country. The official name is "Republic of Peru" (or Republica del Peru). Now, using your argument, you should refer to your country as "the Republic", and not "Peru", and you should all refer to yourselves as "Republicans" (or Republicanos), instead of Peruvians (or Peruanos).
But that is ridiculous. You will continue to refer to your country as Peru, and we will continue to refer to our country as America.
Now the real question. Should America have been given the same name as the continent(s). The answer is probably NO. However, there is not much that can be done about that now.
So you see that the way we refer to ourselves is actually correct. The issue is only with why our country was named the way it was.
-Chuck
I totally agree with you Gustavo, you are right. The Only thing that is partially wrong about your argument is when you said that US citizens think too much if themselves. MOST OF THEM DO, not all of them. But other than that I agree with you
Yours Truly
Dominicano Sanchez
I agree to some extent, look the reason The USA is refered to as America is because they are the only superpower in the world and every country know who they are. The people from the states as i refer to them are truly not thought otherwise, and many of them wouldn't care to educate themselves about it, and some are just really stuck up and would say we made the name popular, and now the rest of you want to share our glory. It sounds like a Bill o'reily broadcast. I am one who believe it can change but the USA won't change it, we will have to change it ourselves, by teaching our kids and friends about it, and we have a large online forum to spread the message and eventually it will catch on. Anything can change.
well to the man who said that they could call united states america because its name is united states of america and used as an example peru i want to say you that there isnt any other place in the world called peru and it doesnt bother anyone but when an us citizen calls his or her country america it bothers a lot of people ,more than 200000 if you dont trust me go to face book and search it
Its different from the peru example. If they would call themselves "Republic of Peru of America" they would still call themselves "Peru"!! Not America :S. And I hope we don't want to share your "glory". I dont see any glory in destroying a country just because you want their petrol :)
I am agree with you, basically when my girlfriend come to Costa Rica and we are in a hotel or some nice place and she say "I am american", its kinda weird, because, Costa Rica is in american, so what we are for them? I am american!
This is kind of ridiculous, i mean, what the hell do you guys want us to call ourselves then??? I guess by the logic of all of the people here with animosity towards the U.S. we should call ourselves "united states of americans." If you don't like what we call ourselves blame Amerigo Vespucci, NOT US.
I'm really tired of everyone making the unfounded assumption that every U.S. citizen is an arrogant, ignorant jerk. Doesn't anyone realize that this stereotype is just as arrogant and ignorant?
As a non-US citizen but a North American, I have no problem with USans calling themselves "Americans". Other constructs are awkward. I DO, however, object to the president of the United States of America referring to country he presides over as America. He is the President of the United States. In that context, he needs to drop the "America".
When I travel from my non US country in North America, I wouldn't dream of saying I was going to America. I'm going to the US, the United States, or, in short, the States.
I have many friends who live in and were born in the US. The vast majority recognize and acknowledge that their country is does not represent all of two-point-five continents. Most of them pay attention to what happens in other countries on those continents, particularly the one the one they share.
But I have a couple of US friends who have bluntly said "Why the F*** should I care what happens in your country?". Left me speechless. I had no idea that people could be that ill informed and geocentric.